MEDVAMC initiates Aeterna Zentaris' AEZS-130 Phase 2A trial in cancer cachexia

Mar 9 2012

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) (TSX: AEZ) (the "Company") today announced that the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Houston, Texas, has initiated a Phase 2A trial assessing the safety and efficacy of repeated doses of the Company's ghrelin agonist, AEZS-130 (macimorelin), in patients with cancer cachexia. The study is conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Aeterna Zentaris and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center which is funding the study. Cachexia, characterized by diminished appetite and food intake in cancer patients, is defined as an involuntary weight loss of at least 5% of the pre-illness body weight over the previous 6 months. Jose M. Garcia, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism, Departments of Medicine, Molecular and Cell Biology, the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center and the Huffington Center on Aging at Baylor College of Medicine and Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, will act as the Principal Investigator of this trial.

Juergen Engel, PhD, President and CEO of Aeterna Zentaris stated, "Reaching agreement on this CRADA with the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center was an important step which paved the way for the initiation of this trial. Furthermore, the study with AEZS-130 in cancer cachexia opens another important pathway for the development of this drug in the clinic."

Jose M. Garcia, MD, PhD, added, "I am pleased that we reached agreement on the conduct of this research cooperatively and that we can now initiate this study. The results generated by the proposed experiments will set the basis for future trials in this and other wasting conditions that also are very prevalent including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), renal failure or chronic heart failure (CHF)-induced cachexia."